MANILA - Tracker teams are pursuing leads to the whereabouts of a missing Chinese national who had been one of those nabbed early this month when authorities raided a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) service provider in Pasay City last August 1, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday.
In an ambush interview, DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said they received a report of the missing expatriate on Wednesday.
“We received a report yesterday that there is allegedly a missing Chinese national from the Pasay raid site in Rivendell, and we immediately mobilized a tracker team to conduct a manhunt for the missing POGO employee,” he said.
He said the tracker team is composed of members of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration’s Fugitive Search Unit .
The missing individual was one of the 27 persons who were recommended to be charged with violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
“On our part, we are doing everything to get him back,” Clavano said.
Clavano said it remains unclear how the escape occurred although he noted that the POGO facility where the expatriate had been held was controlled by the corporation allegedly involved in scams.
The company, SA Rivendell Global Support, is located at Zamora corner Gaitos Street in Pasay City and was said to be conducting scam activities including love scams and online gaming manipulations.
Most of the 650 workers found in the facility were Filipinos, while about 180 workers, mostly Chinese, were foreigners.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp has since suspended SA Rivendell’s permit as a POGO customer relations service provider. (PNA)
